Åke Gabriel Bonnier (born 11 December 1957) is Bishop of Skara in the Church of Sweden since September 2012. Through inheritance, he is also the second largest owner of the Bonnier group.

Early life

Bonnier was born and grew up in

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

where his father, Gerard Bonnier, belonged to the wealthy Bonnier family.Evelina Myrbäck (15 November 2012
Åke Bonnier valde ett annat liv

Sveriges Radio Sveriges Radio AB (, "Sweden's Radio") is Sweden's national publicly funded radio broadcaster. Sveriges Radio is a public limited company, owned by an independent foundation, previously funded through a licensing fee, the level of which is d ...

. Retrieved 2 January 2013 His father was of partly Jewish descent and his mother was a member of the Church of Sweden, while his maternal grandmother converted from the Church of Sweden to Catholicism. He was baptised as child, but did not have a religious upbringing. His interest in Christianity started in his youth: he cites a book by Stockholm's bishop

Ingmar Ström Ingmar Valter Lorens Ström (21 May 1912 - 19 January 2003) was a Swedish author and Bishop of Stockholm from 1971 till 1979. Biography Ström was born on 21 May 1912 in Solna Municipality, Sweden, the son of the Reverend Tord Valfrid and Agnes ...

as an inspiration which led him choose to be confirmed in the Church of Sweden.Annika Sjöqvist Platzer
Han längtar till sitt nya stift
Svenska Kyrkan. Retrieved 2 January 2014 He says of his wealth: "It is a great pleasure to belong to the Bonnier family, and at the same time a responsibility to have this money. The managerial responsibility is also an issue for us as Christians".

Career

After having been involved in and leader of the Church's youth organisation Kyrkans unge and volunteering a year in Church of Sweden, he started studying theology and was ordained priest in Storkyrkan in 1984. He subsequently held various pastoral positions in the Church of Sweden; from 1986 to 2006 in the Congregation of Lidingö. He served as dean of Stockholm from 2006 to 2009. Bonnier was one of the officiants at the wedding of Crown Princess Victoria and Daniel Westling in 2009 and at the baptism of Princess Estelle.Storstadens son längtar efter att bli biskop
Skövde Nyheter. 7 April 2012. Retrieved 2 January 2014 He was ordained bishop by Archbishop Anders Wejryd in Uppsala Cathedral in August 2012. Crown Princess Victoria attended the ceremony. Bonnier is on the Board of Directors of

Gustavus Adolphus College Gustavus Adolphus College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in St. Peter, Minnesota. It was founded in 1862 by Swedish Americans led by Eric Norelius and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Gustavus gets its nam ...

in Minnesota. He also belongs to the Focolare Movement and has been chairman of the Friends of the Thiel Gallery.

Views and theological profile

Bonnier has been a member of the Focolare Movement since 1988.Curriculum Vitae
Svenskakyrkan.se. Retrieved 2 January 2014 He has attended Stockholm Pride and believes the LGBT movement should have a place in the church. He became member of the leadership for the yearly march Jesusmanifestationen (English: The Jesus manifestation) in 2008, but left the leadership in 2009 citing concern about his participation among Evangelical Christians who had criticized him for defending the art exhibition Uppenbar(a)—which showed controversial art with Christian motives—and for being liberal on LGBT issues. Having moved from Stockholm to Skara as a result of being appointed bishop, Bonnier criticized Swedish authorities in 2013 for discriminating against people outside large cities by providing insufficient public services and infrastructure in these areas and offering fewer jobs in the public sector there.

Personal life

Åke Bonnier is married to Kristina Gustafsson Bonnier who is a social worker and has two daughters, one of which is

Anna Rantala Bonnier Anna may refer to: People Surname and given name * Anna (name) Mononym * Anna the Prophetess, in the Gospel of Luke * Anna (wife of Artabasdos) (fl. 715–773) * Anna (daughter of Boris I) (9th–10th century) * Anna (Anisia) (fl. 1218 to 1221) ...

. He is the second biggest owner of the Bonnier Group.Sveriges 119 mmiljardar 60–69
''Veckans Affärer''. Retrieved 2 January 2013 He was listed by '' Veckans Affärer'' as the 64th richest man in Sweden in 2012 with a fortune of 2.1 billion Swedish kronor (US$345 million as of January 2014). His siblings Eva, Pontus, and Karl-Otto Bonnier, have top positions in the Bonnier group.Isaac Pineus (1 February 2005
Doldisarna som styr bakom Braun
''Affärsvärlden''. Retrieved 2 January 2014 .

Recognition

*Knight of the Order of St. Gregory the Great (2008)

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonnier, Aake Bishops of Skara Businesspeople from Stockholm Swedish people of Czech-Jewish descent 21st-century Lutheran bishops Uppsala University alumni 1957 births Living people Ake